The invention relates to a roadway snow excavation or removal apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus having a frame and operating components which may be selectively attached, quickly mounted or demounted, on either the rear or front of a vehicle having an appropriate power take-off unit. Alternatively, the apparatus could be carried by a vehicle devoted exclusively thereto.
Vehicle attached roadway snow excavators, snowplows or snow-removing apparatus are not new. Many types having various features and constructions are now in use. Prior art relevant to the invention may be found in Class 37, Excavating; subclasses 41, 43, 43 B, 43 D, 43 H, 44, 46-50, concerned with roadway snow excavators. The prior patent art has been reviewed and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 15,975, January/1925, Johnson; U.S. Pat. No. 1,524,518, January/1925, Jensen; U.S. Pat. No. 2,143,699, January/1939, Jensen; U.S. Pat. No. 2,224,870, December/1940, Jensen; U.S. Pat. No. 2,474,840, July/1949, Greer; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,880,527, April/1959, Merry, have been selected as the most pertinent prior art.
The snow excavation or removal apparatus has greater utility and many advantages over the prior art roadway snow excavators, snowplows or snow-removing apparatus. The apparatus was primarily conceived to deal with large banks of packed snow or ice created by severe blizzards, with high winds and drifting snow. The apparatus is particularly suited for use in rural areas, on unimproved lanes or county roads, where conventional blade-type snow plowing equipment is either late in arriving or ineffective, or both. When dealing with the aftermath of a blizzard, the apparatus has the capability of being attached to a farm tractor and used to slowly and powerfully open a track or path out to the main road. However, the apparatus may also be used to clear normal amounts of snow on expressways or airport runways, at relatively high vehicle speeds.